SEMI Europe 2017 Wrap Up: Enabling Critical Strategy

2017 was a great year of growth for the European Industry. We are thrilled about the outstanding results of this first SEMICON Europa 2017 co-located with productronica. Overwhelming feedback about the success of the event: this was the best European show in years.

On behalf of SEMI, I would like to thank our members, exhibitors, visitors, sponsors, media partners, international delegations, local authorities and supporters. We owe our SEMICON Europa 2017 success to our partners and supporters in the European electronics and manufacturing ecosystem. We now look forward to collaborating again next year, when SEMICON Europa will co-locate with electronica, 13-16 November 2018, in Munich, Germany.

We also celebrate our European Imaging & Sensors and MEMS & Sensors Summits organized in collaboration with SEMI strategic partner, the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) in Grenoble, France. The 2017 co-located events recorded the best results ever: a visionary keynotes opening session, a fully booked exhibition, best-in-class speakers and the introduction of the technology showcase and the demo zone. Most of all, the events were an occasion to connect with our Grenoble ecosystem that supported us last September. Thank you! We will meet again in 2018, 19-21 September.

What does exactly mean this for Europe? What did our region achieve and what to expect for the new year? Europe is strategically positioned to enable SMART applications globally.

We welcomed encouraging news about investments byBosch, which established a new semiconductor fab in Dresden, Germany, with a Billion-euro investment in 12-inch technology, and STMicroelectronics, with $1.1 billion invested in 2017, mostly directed toward front-end 300 mm chip production, and back-end testing and assembly for new products. Dresden saw a more than $5 billion investment in IoT, and Grenoble became a unique ecosystem – the Imaging Valley – for the imaging industry. We believe Europe has the potential to become an international center of semiconductor excellence. In the new year, we will be committed to enabling growth in Europe and reinforcing cross-collaboration to foster industry prosperity.

Next year, in response to the evolving needs of Europe’s members, SEMI Europe will offer strategic platforms to connect key stakeholders across the value chain and explore new collaboration opportunities to accelerate their business activities. We will start in Dresden, Germany, with the 6th Edition of the European 3D Summit (22-24 January, 2018). The next stop will be in Dublin, Ireland, for the ISS Europe (4-6 March 2018). Please read about our upcoming events here: SEMI Europe events.

SEMI Europe is closing the year with the SEMI Member Forum, December 7-8, 2017, in Dresden, Germany. The event will focus on strategies to retain talent in Europe’s microelectronics industry and explain why a strong talent pipeline is a key enabler of industry growth. For further information, please click here. I look forward to meeting many of you in Dresden this week and wish you all the best for the new year.